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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• PKR :Change before you have to!
• Real cause of air crash never known - Yong
• FGV listing and the interests of settlers
• The tragedy that is Umno
• Will Anwar Ibrahim be incarcerated?
• Manipulasi masa adalah korupsi dalam sistem keadilan
• Isa sepatutnya jadi peneroka dulu, baru jadi pengerusi koperasi
• Will there be a change of government post GE 13?
• Rakaman video turun bendera jibby Altantuya
• Setiap yang hidup akan mati. UMNO bagaimana?
• ZAID is with US!
• Listing of FGV- looking our for settlers interests
• Hasan Ali : Kalau datang dulu nampak mukanya, kalau nak pergi biarlah nampak belakangnya
• Malaysia’s record of engagement with the World Bank
• Suspicious Secrecy From the Swiss!
• Isu agenda Melayu sejak dari dulu sampai sekarang- Melayu tidak kemana juga
• Longer campaign period, fairer access to media needed
• Kes penyenaraian Felda GV- kajian semula
• The power brokers in Umno, and who do they support?
• Iran, Islam and the ‘Axis of Evil’

PKR :Change before you have to! Posted: 24 Dec 2011 10:35 AM PST The times that we now live in moves forward at such a rapid pace that we sometimes see our present only as it is already disappearing. Even as try to comprehend the enormity of Pakatan Rakyat's success in the 12th general election we are already into the 13th general election. The only constant is change.    If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change. (John A. Simone, Sr) And for Anwar the situation now is not good. What will it take for it to change? But how has it come to this again? Why are we waiting to see if Anwar will again be incarcerated? Is it UMNO? They said it was Mahathir before, today is it Najib? I do not have answers to that question. Only Anwar knows the truth. The reality id that we are now faced with fighting for political change  through a political process that is flawed and much inclined towards the incumbent. And the incumbent is further advantaged by a host of legal and illegal maneuvers aided by an abundance of corruption and a determination to hold on to power at all costs – a combination that has seen UMNO hold on to power for over 50 years. There is no fair mechanism for power change in Malaysia. With Anwar we had hoped that whatever 'fairness' missing from the political process in Malaysia would at least be turfed down to a somewhat level playing field. It would seem that this is not to be in the 13th general election.  Pakatan Rakyat is in the fight for their lives, for our lives –and Anwar or no Anwar we are locked in with Pakatan Rakyat in this fight with UMNO and BarisanNasional. We know that it is not the business of UMNO to make it any easier for Pakatan Rakyat to succeed in the 13thUMNO, for Najib, to prosecute Anwar again. Has he not gone through enough? general election. But in all decency I cannot understand the need for Am I angry? More sad then angry. But there is enough anger within me to stir my very soul to fight with PakatanRakyat against Barisan Nasional. Enough anger within me to work tirelessly to oust Barisian Nasional from government. READ MORE HERE

Real cause of air crash never known - Yong Posted: 24 Dec 2011 10:26 AM PST Yong, 53, said that in his press statements, he had never even once made any reference to the plaintiff Tan Sri Harris Salleh as he alleged. "It is a well-known fact by the public and the people of Sabah that the formal investigation report and the real cause of the air crash are never released to the public and the people of Sabah despite concerns and questions by the people on what was the real cause of the incident," he said, adding that he was not the only one who raised the issue for re-investigation into the incident. The former chief minister testified that the newspaper reports which Harris alleged were defamatory to him was basically a call by him (Yong) for the air crash tragedy known as the "Double or Triple Six Tragedy" to be re investigated. "The reason is, so that all doubts about the true causes of the crash are removed," he said. Yong was testifying before Justice Dato' Abdul Rahman Sebli in the on-going hearing of a RM50 million suit brought by Harris against him and the party for allegedly insinuating that he (Harris) was involved in causing the plane crash which killed former Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and all 10 others on board a Nomad aircraft on June 6, 1976. Harris, 81, who filed the suit on June 6, last year, is claiming for general damages, aggravated and exemplary damages of not less than RM50 million to be assessed separately against Yong and SAPP as the first and second defendants respectively. He is also seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants whether by themselves or their servants or employee or agents from printing and publishing further the statements and similar libel in any form or means. Harris is represented by counsel Yunof Maringking and Trevor Maringking while Yong and the party are represented by counsel Datuk Simon Shim and Flora Dius. In that newspaper reports, Yong said he was also commenting on the revelation by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that the Usno-led government under the late Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun in 1975 was unwilling to sign the petroleum agreement and this had revived a relevant issue in Malaysia federalism, the intrusion of the Federal Government on uncooperative state governments. "I was again commenting that normally it is proper to re-open an investigation into an old accident if new information surfaces. "I also said that maybe nothing new would come out of the re-investigation or maybe something big and depths of history," he said. He said the government had decided in a few other cases in which public inquiries were conducted because the public demanded for them. "For example in the case of V.K Lingam Video Clip and the death of Teoh Beng Hock because they involved the interest of the public," he pointed out. Yong said, the government even formed an independent commission to investigate incidents which involved abuse of powers by the police force. He said he and the plaintiff have political differences but he has never made any disrespectful statements on the plaintiff. Thus, he said he was merely making fair comments in response to Tengku Razaleigh's statement during his talk at KDCA on April 2, 2010, which was published in the Daily Express with regards to the ill-fated aircraft that crashed. "It was Tengku Razaleigh who made the statement that he and two others were already on board the ill-fated aircraft but the same left the said aircraft due to the last minute invitation by the plaintiff to board another plane to Pulau Banggi, Kudat. I did not make that statement. "In response to that statement, I commented that for so long nobody really knew about the cause of the air-crash, I said that proper investigation should be made so the people would know what really caused the crash," he said. Yong pointed out that there were a few theories of the incident. "Some said it was caused by sabotage, some said it was because of pilot error, some said because of overloading and some said it was because the Nomad plane was defective. "However, the official investigation report of the cause of the crash has never been released," he said, adding that these theories were discussed in some books like the books of "The Sabahan - The Life and Death of Tun Fuad Stephen" and "The Harris Salleh of Sabah". "I also think that my party and I were merely exercising out rights of freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution to call for a re-investigation into a very significant event in response to the revelation of the personal account of Tengku Razaleigh before the air crash. He was there before the plane flew," he said. Yong told the court that if a public inquiry or re-investigation is conducted, there will be a witness who can testify on the conditions of the plane and of the passengers at that time and that the plaintiff can also be called to testify on his own account of the event. Earlier in the proceedings, Yong told the court that he had an appointment at Tengku Razaleigh's office on Nov 14, and Dec 8, in Kuala Lumpur. He said in the first meeting on Nov 14, they talked about his (Tengku Razaleigh's) speech and informed the latter that arising from his speech and the news reports, he was now being sued by the plaintiff in respect of what he (Yong) said in responding to the speech. READ MORE HERE

FGV listing and the interests of settlers Posted: 23 Dec 2011 09:19 AM PST So, we have to establish whether settlers have a standing in the first place to even question the listing. If they don't, they should shut up for as long as they get free benefits and are taken care of. If we do indeed establish that settlers have standing and deemed interests, then we move on to ask, is the FGV listing a sellout to FELDA? So the second of our attention should be directed to the question whether the listing is a sellout.   Let's face it- the interest of settlers is indirect here and is of little consequence. It should be a non-issue. As long as they get whatever form of benefits- bonuses, end of year cash handouts, futsal fields, indoor stadiums, hockey turfs, MRSM College, FELDA University- they should be thankful. Just on account of being a settler- they get all these. Where else can they get this kind of preferential treatment of being cared for from cradle to grave? FELDA can continue giving all these, if it makes money as a whole. If it has the reserves from which they appropriate and apply as in the above examples we gave. And FELDA does indeed have the reserves. They even sued those who accused FELDA of being bankrupt. At its height, its reserves were RM 40 billion, then RM 4 billion and today- we don't know how much. Maybe this listing will top up the depleting reserves. We don't really know. Hence the government which owns FELDA is greatly disturbed when people question the proposed listing of FELDA's businesses not directly owned by settlers nor operated by them. Settlers tend their 10 acre lots- that are all they do. It's FELDA- through FELDA Holdings and FGV that does business. Settlers have no business to interfere in these organizations run professionally. Settlers derive direct benefits via ownership of the FELDA plots they have on which they worked on. They get benefits when they sell their FFB at FELDA owned mills at specific price level. Their interests are looked after better if they get good price for FFB, if the extraction rate of the oil is done truthfully, if their planting operations costs have been good. Their interests are better off, if the output per hectare is as good as estates operated by United Plantations, KLK, IOI and so forth. READ MORE HERE

The tragedy that is Umno Posted: 23 Dec 2011 09:07 AM PST Umno is full of Malays who are afraid to say "No". "No" to corruption. "No" to power abuse. "No" to seeking as well as giving patronage. Perhaps one can add, "No" to Mahathir, "No" to Najib. Umno has been in power for over 54 years. Not all Malays wish to be in Umno, but Umno does need all of the Malays for it to be a potent force. Today, Umno refuses to accept that Malays are abandoning Umno. Around the time of independence, Umno may have had people of quality within its ranks. Today, it is alleged that loyalty is determined by money. Is that what Umno think the Malays are proud of? That their allegiance is easily bought? Umno strips Malays of self-worth and self-respect. Instead of using intelligent discourse and logic to dissect any issue, Umno uses sexual allegations or character assassinations, to blacken the reputation of members of the opposition. Opposition leaders had their characters or their children's character tarnished with untrue allegations in pro-Umno blogs. Gutter politics are prevalent in Umno and was witnessed during the last Umno general assembly. Name calling and snide insinuations seemed to be the order of the day. These men and women, who are supposed to be leaders and pillars of Malay society, are a disgrace to themselves and the nation. In Umno, men who were guilty of sexual acts, against their hired help or against minors, talk about the sexual behaviour of other people, as if they led blameless lives. Those who are guilty of money politics tried to distract attention by calling on opposition members to resign. What happened to accountability and responsibility? These men and women, talk about religion as if they were themselves, free of sin. These same people use any opportunity to say that the failure of the Malays is because of the dominance of the non-Malays. In education, for instance, the Malays are given the best chances for obtaining a higher education. Things are made deliberately easy for them. The undesirable side-effect is that they and their children grow up lacking aspiration and ambition. Malays who wanted to improve themselves by learning English are now considered traitors. Many Malays who study overseas have a poor grasp of English. Many who were not allowed to mix with other races at home, found great difficulty adapting to life with non-Malays. Is this what Umno leaders want of the Malay? For them to be cocooned and their minds closed to what is happening in the global arena? Tunnel vision Malays have lost the respect of the other races and nationalities. Worldwide, people are breaking down the walls which prevent intermingling, but not, it appears, in the Malay race. Malays have tunnel vision when it comes to understanding social mores. They see non-Malays and non-Muslims as a threat to their very existence. They feel that they are far superior to the other races or nationalities, and their belligerence prevents them from accepting that others are superior to them in many fields; be it education, business, social integration and civility. READ MORE HERE

Will Anwar Ibrahim be incarcerated? Posted: 23 Dec 2011 08:48 AM PST The story goes that Anwar Ibrahim stands a hopeless chance at getting an acquittal, if we were to base it on an earlier trial of about a similar offence in 1998. PKR has to brace itself for the worst case scenario where a leadership vacuum in the party will occur if Anwar Ibrahim is found guilty and is sentence to a jail term. I think that leadership vacuum will also be felt in the PR, but how this will affect the coalition's chances in the upcoming elections is difficult to predict. There have also been numerous assessments citing the possibility of PR winning the elections, i.e. with or without Anwar Ibrahim. Some believe that Anwar Ibrahim isn't a critical factor in winning the elections anymore, and neither is there the 'sympathy factor' that impacted upon PR successes in the 2008 general elections. What are more important now are issues and exposures affecting UMNO/BN today that are most likely to weaken BN's reputation in the run up to the elections. And issues and exposures detailing UMNO/BN 50 odd years of wrong doing are slowly emerging. Even former PM Tun Dr. Mahathir 20 odd years of rule is not spared of public debate and criticism. Even if Anwar were to be acquitted and assumes the premiership (should PR win the election), at best he would only last one term as he would breach his 70th birthday at the end of that term. It is for this reason that I think, PR should start developing and identifying a second tier leaders that are reasonably young capable (free of all the worldly vices) of taking over the leadership, so that when a leadership change does occur, the transition would be smooth. I believe the PR leadership today is not devoid of young and able leaders that are not seen to have been inflicted or to have been influence by the 'evils and vices of politics'. This is simply because they all have not savored political power, but once in power I certainly am not ruling out the chances of them emulating the inherent adverse qualities of the present UMNO/BN leadership. This will be the biggest challenge for the PR leadership. READ MORE HERE

Manipulasi masa adalah korupsi dalam sistem keadilan Posted: 23 Dec 2011 08:43 AM PST Kedua-dua hujah ini menekan bahawakeadilan tidak ditentukan oleh faktor masa, tetapi hendaklah berdasarkan undang-undang yang adil. Di Malaysia, bukan saja hukum sering tidak adil, ia sering dizalimkan lagi dengan manipulasi masa. Bekas Menteri Besar Selangor, Khir Toyo didakwa atas dakwaan yang telah diringankan bagi menyelamatkan beliau. Masa yang dipilih untuk memutuskan kes ini ialah menjelang cuti umum selama tiga hari, iaitu cuti hari Krismas yang dicantumkan dengan cuti hari minggu. 23 Disember sengaja dipilih ketika rakyat sedang bercuti penjang supaya mereka tidak sempat menganalisa kes ini dan dengan itu menyelamatkan sendiwara politik pemerintah. Kita lihat lagi, Eric Chia dan Kasitah Gaddam didakwa menjelang PRU 2004 bertujuan memperlihatkan kononnya kerajaan bersungguh dalam menangani rasuah untuk kepentingan kempen, sedangkan kesalahan tersebut dilakukan berpuluh tahun sebelum itu. Dan beberapa tahun selepas PRU, mereka dibebaskan. Pada tahun 1999, Marina Yusoff yang sedang popular dikalangan penyokong reformasi ketika itu didakwa atas Akta Hasutan, dan masa yang dipilih ialah pada hari raya ketiga bertujuan mengelak perhimpunan bagi menyokong beliau kerana kebanyakan rakyat ketika itu sedang bercuti. Sebelum Anwar Ibrahim dibebaskan pada tahun 2004, beliau telah dimaklumkan beberapa bulan sebelum itu oleh 'orang-orang yang rapat' kepada Perdana Menteri bahawa beliau akan dibebaskan, tetapi masanya selepas PRU bagi mengelakkan beliau berkempen. Kes terbaru Anwar diabicarakan secara tergesa-gesa dan dipercepat supaya hukuman dapat dijatuhkan sebelum Parlimen dibubar oleh Perdana Menteri untuk dijadikan bahan kempen oleh Umno/Barisan Nasional dalam PRU 13. Dalam rancangan membebaskan dua katak Perak, Mohd Osman Jailu dan Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi sebagai habuan melompat, masa yang dipilih ialah ketika orang sibuk berkempen pilihanraya Sarawak. READ MORE HERE

Isa sepatutnya jadi peneroka dulu, baru jadi pengerusi koperasi Posted: 23 Dec 2011 08:28 AM PST Felda sejak tertubuhnya adalah di bawah Kementerian Tanah dan Wilayah dan dengan tekun serta kerja tidak mengenal penat lelah oleh mereka yang bertanggungjawab maka Felda telah maju dan menjadi di antara perbadanan yang paling kaya samada dalam bentuk tunai dan asetnya. Kalau perbadanan ini mula di tadbir oleh pelaksana yang jujur seperti Tan Sri Taib Andak perbadanan ini telah berkembang di bawah kelolaan Raja Tan Sri Alias Ali sehingga Felda terkenal di seluruh dunia sebagai tanah rancangan yang paling tersusun dan ditadbir dengan baik serta beretika di bawah pimpinan Raja Tan Sri Alias Raja Ali selama 3 dekad beliau berada di sana. Politik tidak begitu masuk campur dalam hal Felda selama ini. Kalau ada pun politik di dalamnya ianya terbatas kepada mempastikan yang matlamat asal penubuhan Felda itu di capai mengikut kehendak dasar-dasar yang di kepilkan dengan penubuhannya itu. Kerjasama semua pihak, pengurusan dari ibu pejabat sehingga pejabat pentadbiran wilayah-wilayahnya sehinggalah kepada individu-individu peneroka serta pengorbanan mereka semua telah menjadikan Felda sebagai perbadan yang paling baik pentadbirannya. Kebaikkan pentadbiran perbadanan ini tentulah di sebabkan perbadanan ini di ketuai oleh pelaksana yang sangat komited terhadap tanggungjawab yang di amanahkan oleh pimpinan Melayu negara. Komitmen Raja Tan Sri Alias dalam membina Felda sehingga sampai ketahap ini memang menjadi contoh kepada semua pihak. Nama Raja Tan Sri Alias di Felda itu terpahat sehinggakan ism pelaksana dasar kerajaan ini tidak akan mudah dilupakan oleh pegawai dan kakitangan Felda serta peneroka keseluruhannya. Apabila Raja Tan Sri Alias bersara Felda masih utuh kerana ism dan sistem tadbiran di bawah Raja Tan Sri Alias itu sangat berkesan dan 'follow through' dengan sistem Raja TS Alias itu terus menjadi asas pembangunan Felda sehingga orang politik mengetuai Lembaga Pengarah perbadanan itu bernama Tan Sri Yusuf Nor. Tan Sri Yusuf Nor tidak mencuba-cuba untuk menggali dan menganjak cara Raja TS Alias di dalam perbadanan itu maka tidak adalah masalah besar berlaku di bawah pengerusinya TS Yusuf Nor itu. Felda telah begitu berjaya sehinggakan ada pihak yang begitu cair air liurnya kerana kekayaan perbadanan ini hasil dari penat jerih ratusan ribu peneroka yang berada di bawah paying Felda itu. Dengan senyap-senyap Felda dipandang oleh setengah pihak sebagai perbadan yang boleh di kudakan untuk kepentingan politik setengah pihak. Maka Felda telah dipindahkan dari Kementerian Kemajuan Tanah dan Wilayah kepada Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan duduk di bawah dagu Najib Tun Razak sejak beliau masih menjadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri sehinggalah sekarang. Sejak perpindahan Felda dari Kementerian Kemajuan Tanah dan Wilayah kepada pentadbiran Najib Razak inilah Felda mula di hinggapi penyakit yang berbagai-bagai. Sejak di bawah tadbiran Najib ini Felda telah menjadi tempat pelahap-pelahap negara mengambil kesempatan dan peneroka-peneroka rancangan tanah ini. Sebelum ini peneroka dan rakyat tidak berapa menyedari apa yang telah dilakukan kepada mereka, Sekarang mereka telah celek dan mulalah anak-anak generasi Felda ini terutamanya mengambil langkah melakukan tentangan terhadap pihak berkuasa kerana tindakkan unilateral kerajaan persekutuan dalam menentukan corak Felda menghadapi masa depan yang kian mencabar. READ MORE HERE

Will there be a change of government post GE 13? Posted: 22 Dec 2011 09:28 AM PST Awang Selamat of Utusan Malaysia must have crystal gazed and has predicted an uncertain political, social and economic environment will envelop this country should PR reign after the 13th GE. But what Awang Selamat did not do is to crystal gazed his own future and that of Utusan Malaysia, should there be a change of government. I think he believes it is only UMNO/BN that has the right to rule this country, regardless of the unstoppable and endemic corruption that is going on among politicians and government officials, the flight of illicit money out of the country that runs into billions, the phenomenal increase in deficit spending that has reached almost half a trillion that could bankrupt the country, and the ease at which the government seems to be flushing money for projects that is likely to end up in failure – PKFZ and NFC are cases in point. Just watch, the act of flushing money will heighten as the general election draws near. My kampong folks are only waiting for the roads and lanes to be resurfaced and possibly lighted up. Someone commented to me recently that every government project would end up in failure if the hands of politicians and cronies are deep in it. Let's watch the outcome of the proposed listing of Felda Global Venture; supposedly to generate a windfall for the Felda settlers; masterminded by the infamous, Isa Samad. I do not know what is there in him that had softened up PM Najib to appoint him Felda's Chairman. I suppose Isa Samad's past record of being barred from UMNO after being found guilty of money politics qualifies him to the Chairmanship of Felda. What about the Chairman of Felcra then? You know who is he? I think he is one of those porn CD peddlers. This nation of ours has not experience a changeover of government following a legitimate and democratically held election. If the takeover of the states of Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kedah and Perak following the 2008 general election can be cited as an example, than we can be rest assured that there will be some semblance of an orderly changeover. But my fear is that this involves a changeover of government for the entire nation where there is likelihood that some states aren't quite ready to handover for a prescribed reason. It is not easy to hand over power to someone else after more than five decades of continuous rule, and knowing that the loss would badly affect the livelihood i.e. income, businesses and privileges of many who are already well entrenched in their comfort zone. READ MORE HERE

Rakaman video turun bendera jibby Altantuya Posted: 22 Dec 2011 09:19 AM PST SEE VIDEO HERE

Setiap yang hidup akan mati. UMNO bagaimana? Posted: 22 Dec 2011 09:18 AM PST Kalau kita mendengar di mana-mana terlalu ramai yang mempunyai pandangan yang UMNO juga akan mati kerana tanda-tandanya semakin jelas dari hari ke hari, minggu ke minggu dan bulan ke bulan. Begitulah seterusnya. Hanya waktu sahaja yang menentukan masanya. Kadangkala seseorang atau pertubuhan itu akan menghadapi penyakit yang serius dahulu sebelum mati. Setengahnya mati mengejut kerana serangan angin ahmar dan jantung. Bagi pertubuhan ada yang mati mengejut. UMNO (asal) dulu menghadapi mati mengejut. Tetapi ada penggantinya yang di hidupkan secara mengejut dan meminjam nama yang telah mati itu. Pendeknya yang hidup semuanya akan menghadapi mati dan itu adalah hakiki. Dua tiga hari yang lepas saya bertemu dengan seorang yang tidak saya kenali sebelumnya. Kami bertemu kerana beliau menelefon saya untuk berjumpa dan berbincang tentang perkara yang telah saya tulis. Nampaknya beliau adalah seorang yang selalu mengikuti apa yang saya telah tulis dalam blog kecil saya ini. Beliau telah menjemput saya di kedai mamak yang berhampiran dengan kediaman saya dan membawa saya minum di Holiday Villa, Subang Jaya. Semasa di dalam kereta beliau saya ternampak banyak baju-T UMNO. Saya bertanya kenapa banyak sangat baju T UMNO ini. Beliau menjawab yang baju itu memang sudah lama berada di dalam keretanya, tetapi beliau merasa tidak sedap untuk membahagi-bahagikan kepada ahli-ahli di cawangan beliau dan orang ramai. Apabila saya tanya kenapa tidak sedap hati, beliau memberitahu saya yang beliau telah di sindir oleh sanak saudara beliau dan ahli-ahli UMNO cawangan beliau sendiri yang menunjukkan rasa tidak gemar dengan UMNO dan tidak mahu memakainya. "Cerita UMNO akan mati ini mungkin menjadi kenyataan kerana orang ramai tidak langsung berminat untuk mengenakan dan memakai baju-T yang mempunyai logo UMNO itu. Saya telah masuk kampus untuk membahagi-bahagikan baju-baju T itu tetapi mahasiswa-mahasiswa menolaknya. Jadi apa lagi boss, saya pun malu nak menurunkan dari kereta saya ini" kata beliau yang berada dalam lingkungan umur lima puluhan itu. Semasa minum beliau bertanya kepada saya apa yang beliau patut lakukan kerana beliau sudah nampak UMNO sudah tidak boleh bertahan lagi. UMNO katanya sudah tidak dihormati lagi oleh jiran tetangga beliau. Beliau terus bertanya, "Abang ahli UMNO lagikah?" Saya menjawab, "masih agaknya" Beliau bertanya, "Abang nak kekal dalam UMNO ke" Saya jawab, "mungkin tidak" Bila beliau bertanya apa sebabnya saya jawab, "Baca tulisan saya, saudara akan tahu sebabnya". Jelas insan yang berhadapan dengan saya itu adalah seorang yang baik dan serius dalam pemikiran beliau. Sepanjang perbualan saya itu beliau bertanya samada beliau patut meninggalkan UMNO atau pun tidak. DAN sampai habis saya tidak memberikan nasihat samada patut keluar atau tetap di dalam UMNO. Hanya saya jawab, "terpulang, ini negara demokrasi. Mana-mana parti pun boleh kita sertai dan bergiat. Hanya, kalau hendak bergiat, pastikan kita mempunyai fikiran yang siuman dan tidak bercakap sorang sorang dan serius dalam perjuangan. READ MORE HERE

ZAID is with US! Posted: 21 Dec 2011 03:45 PM PST I wrote the above paragraph about two weeks ago and for the life of me I could not find a way forward. What should come next? That is until this morning when I saw Zaid's piece "Fighting for a better Malaysia" in Free Malaysia Today: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/12/22/fighting-for-a-better-malaysia/ In that article I saw again in Zaid what I saw when he left Pak Lah's Cabinet in September 2008 and when he left PKR in 2010. For Zaid it was always about anything else but him! His resignation from Pak Lah's cabinet was not about him not being given the Defense, Finance or DPM post. It was not about him not being given any project or any contract. It was about his concern for the rights of Teresa Kok, Raja Petra and Tan Hoon Cheng. In PKR he withdrew his candidacy for the party post of Deputy President as a sign of protest against serious allegations of fraud and electoral misconduct perpetrated by his opponent Azmin Ali – allegations that were proven to have substance in the party's elections held in 2010. And today in his article in FMT he is writing not about Zaid Ibrahim or KITA but about Hindraf and Raja Petra.  He writes about remembering the contributions of these two towards Pakatan Rakyat success in the 2008 general elections. He writes about Petra relentless assault on the ISA and Petra tireless online campaign for the opposition. And he reminds us of what Hindraf was able to do in mobilizing the poor and marginalized Indian community – a feat Zaid believes Hindraf will be able to do again come the 13th general election. And then Zaid being Zaid, he takes a swipe at Petra and calls Petra a maverick that "will say and do things we don't approve of" and tells us that some of Hindraf demands, "were questionable and perhaps unreasonable". Vintage Zaid! Always telling it as it is! READ MORE HERE

Listing of FGV- looking our for settlers interests Posted: 21 Dec 2011 09:01 AM PST think, even while some of us differ in our views, this principle of restructuring, reorganizing, changing in order to arrive at better value, is acceptable. Also I am not averse to having experts run and operate the business. Example- KPF is the investment entity in Felda Holdings. The members of KPF get dividends, handouts, charity, assistance etc. they are able to enjoy because the commercial entity, Felda Global Ventures Sdn Bhd does the business for them. KPF's and the interests of others- public spirited individuals, minders (paid or unpaid) are to ensure the managers of the business do their work efficiently and create shareholder value. Except that, I will always be circumspect about the term 'unlocking value'. Translate that into action and practice, what does the term mean? This term 'unlocking value' has taken different meanings in the context of business in Malaysia. It can mean anything. In the sad case of MAS for example, unlocking value has meant the sale of assets and the management of balance sheet bypassing managing the operations of the business.  The truth is, a business depends more on managing its operations. My understanding in unlocking value is however somewhat more basic- it means you produce more per acre if you are in the business of planting something, you get better price, you produce better quality, produce new products, become more productive, keep costs down. It's a bricks and mortar view of how an economic enterprise operates. You operate the real economy. Goods and services. It's the business operations. As an analyst or investor I will look at these variables and parameters. At the same time, I have this cynical bias- no business unit can sustain profit on paper shuffling and share manipulations without the support of the business fundamentals. I am always suspicious at the managing balance sheet approach. You want to arrive at a clean balance sheet; you manage the assets and liabilities. You are fixated at the over consuming idea of having more value at assets over liabilities. In felda's case that means to me, making sure plantations produce more and high quality yields, marketing, managing more efficiently and so forth. Creating prosperity through share manipulations, IPO and the stuff are initial spurts. What comes later- working on the fundamentals is what sustains long term benefits. A close friend sent me a text. He says he doesn't understand why I oppose the FELDA Global ventures (FGV) listing. Don't I empathize with FELDA settlers? The indirect owners of the 880,000 hectares of palm oil trees are going to enjoy a windfall and you are objecting?  Settlers are passive investors through their cooperative. The business and commercial aspects of the business has always been handled by Felda Global Ventures SB. That is the organization that operates and manages the business. Doesn't it make good business and economic sense to restructure the business into a single entity and create upstream and downstream business entities? The most important element of this business in my mind is the land area. Now, these 880,000 hectares comprise of what? The land already owned by settlers or land not already owned by settlers or both? Since 1990, Felda doesn't enlist settlers anymore. Land not already owned by settlers or were not given out were all placed under Felda Plantations. These are not operated by settlers. They are run directly by Felda through their plantation business units. READ MORE HERE

Hasan Ali : Kalau datang dulu nampak mukanya, kalau nak pergi biarlah nampak belakangnya Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:28 AM PST Oleh kerana PAS bukan parti saya maka saya tidak dapat memberikan komen yang tepat kerana saya tidak pernah berada di dalam parti itu. Oleh kerana tidak tahu apa sebenarnya yang berlaku dalam parti itu saya tidak mampu untuk memberikan komen. Saya mungkin boleh memberikan sedikit sahaja komen mengikut apa yang saya nampak dan dengar dan komen saya hanyalah berdasarkan kepada 'apa yang terbit, itulah yang saya tuai'. Saya telah mendengar tentang Hasan Ali ini sejak beberapa lama dahulu. Beliau begitu resah berada dalam PAS kerana beliau telah dijadikan umpan oleh pihak yang berseteru dengan PAS agar PAS menjadi lemah. Beliau adalah orang yang kuat untuk menemukan PAS dengan UMNO untuk penyatuan orang Melayu Islam tetapi usaha beliau itu tidak pergi ke mana-mana kerana keseluruhan ahli PAS telah memberikan 'stand' yang tegas melalui muktamar parti itu yang bekerjasama dengan UMNO itu tidak berhasil. Hasan di katakan agak 'obsess' dengan usaha menyatukan UMNO dengan PAS dan keputusan PAS tidak melayani cadangan UMNO untuk PAS bersatu dengannya. Ramai berpendapat kecenderungan Hasan untuk mendapat keuntungan peribadi beliau merupakan penyebab mengapa beliau mengambil stand 'middle left' dalam perhubungan di antara PAS dengan UMNO. Keuntungan yang di rasakan akan di perolehi oleh beliau jika PAS bekerjasama dengan UMNO ialah jawatan yang baik seperti MB dan lain-lain, lebih baik dari apa yang beliau sandang sekarang ini. Bagi pendapat saya secara peribadi, Hasan patut meninggalkan sahaja PAS dan tidak berdolak dalik dengan susunan kata-kata yang mudah dibaca orang. Bak kata perbilangan, ramai boleh 'menyelam air dalam tunggak' Hasan itu. Hasan mesti faham dalam keadaan sekarang hanya ada dua posisi yang di ambil oleh individu yang bermain politik; iaitu duduk di sana atau duduk di sini. Politik hari ini memerlukan pendirian yang jelas kerana bagi pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dengan keadaan kepimpinan negara, mereka tidak mahu berketuakan mereka yang tidak di sini dan tidak di sana. Bagi pihak yang menentang arus mereka mahu melihat pemimpin yang jelas mahu melihat pimpinan hari ini di ambil alih oleh pihak alternatif. Sebaliknya bagi mereka yang mahu mempertahankan pimpinan yang ada mereka perlu jelas duduk di sebelah pihak yang mempertahankan pimpinan itu dengan jelas dan nyata. Mereka yang cuba bermain politik mengikut jalan tengah pada masa ini pasti akan menghadapi masalah besar. READ MORE HERE

Malaysia’s record of engagement with the World Bank Posted: 20 Dec 2011 04:22 PM PST The Malaysian policy on public access to the documentation of this engagement is severely restricted under the Official Secrets Act. Fortunately, the World Bank's public disclosure policy is much more open and transparent, and thus the conduct of the said engagement can be seen from the details provided which are accessible through the bank's website. Besides the current contentious issue of loans provided to the country during Dr Mahathir's administration, bank assistance has been in the way of grants and trust funds provided by donor countries (Malaysia although a middle income and relatively rich country by many standards is still recipient of official funding assistance from abroad) as well as advisory and analytical work assistance.  GRANTS AND TRUST FUNDS READ MORE HERE

Suspicious Secrecy From the Swiss! Posted: 20 Dec 2011 11:24 AM PST The country's financial regulators FINMA would not be able to publicise the findings from their investigations into Taib's assets, Widmer-Schlumpf explained, owing to Swiss confidentiality laws. She announced that FINMA has "no possibility, nor the right" to disclose any information on its findings to the public. Rather, it "will inform the directly affected persons only" on the results of its investigations. Those interested parties are, presumably, Taib himself and the Malaysian Government.  But what about the people of Sarawak, who have lost billions in revenue owing to the Chief Minister's handouts of public property, concessions and contracts to his own companies and to his family? Still on the hook! Swiss Finance Minister, Evelyn Widmer-Schlumpf While this cryptic response has infuriated campaigners, who had been given to understand that Switzerland's new drive for more openess in its banking system would bring swift and clear answers, it has done little to help Taib. The reply that would have benefitted the Chief Minister, of course, would have been a straight confirmation of his own declaration earlier in the year, after the investigation was announced, that he had no assets in Switzerland at all! Indeed, Sarawak's billionaire politician had laid his reputation on the line by standing up in his own state assembly and announcing:  "Let me state categorically that I have no secret Swiss bank account, nor assets or investments of any description. None whatsoever".[Taib Mahmud statement] The Swiss Finance Minister has refused to corroborate this statement.  Instead her reply seems to give the strong impression that there ARE interested parties who need to be informed of the results of this investigation! How long are his secrets safe? Maya Graf – Green MP, Swiss Parliament Campaigners are hardly going to allow the situation to rest there.  The Swiss, who have been trying to wipe clean their reputation as a country that made itself rich off the back of Nazi gold and the ill-gotten gains of the world's worst dictators, are in the middle of a national argument over ending its obsessive banking secrecy. The Finance Ministry may be on the side of conservatism, however the former President Micheline Calmy-Rey, who ordered the enquiry, made clear that she was in favour of openess  and yesterday the Green MP Maya Graf said: "I am disappointed that the Swiss government is hiding behind the Swiss banking secrecy and thus helps promote corruption in countries with weak governments.  There is no point in complaining about the destruction of the world's tropical rainforests as long as Western countries assist corrupt families like the Taibs enrich themselves by cutting down the forests." It is not the sort of endorsement that Taib would have wished for from Switzerland and it is a clear sign that the story is by no means finished as campaigners step up their noise on this matter.  The Sarawak-focused Bruno Manser Fund demanded: "How can it be that our authorities will inform a corrupt potentate but not the public on the findings of their investigations?"[BMF press release] Taib will know that the longer an issue is bottled up, the bigger the bang when it is finally un-corked! READ MORE HERE

Isu agenda Melayu sejak dari dulu sampai sekarang- Melayu tidak kemana juga Posted: 20 Dec 2011 09:14 AM PST UMNO masih mengharapkan yang isu ini akan dapat menyatukan orang Melayu di bawah ketiak UMNO kononnya untuk menyempurnakan agenda Melayu. Kalau agenda Melayu sudah begitu lama di nyanyikan oleh kepimpinan Melayu UMNO, bagaimana orang Melayu terutamanya yang terlingkung dalam kumpulan generasi muda masih mahu mempercayainya? Oleh kerana itu ada kemungkinan yang ketinggalan orang Melayu dalam semua bidang sekarang ini merupakan isu yang sangat 'expedient' bagi pimpinan UMNO untuk menyatukan mereka. Lagi ketinggalan Melayu ini lagi untung bagi parti UMNO yang sudah begitu selekeh ini untuk meneruskan kuasa. UMNO seolah-olah tidak mahu Melayu ini maju kedepan kerana jika Melayu sudah maju maka UMNO akan hilang isu untuk menyaingi parti-parti lain yang kian hari kian mendapat sambutan dari rakyat yang rata-rata sudah menggunakan akal anugerah Tuhan untuk menilai dan berfikir untuk memilih yang mana yang baik dan yang sebaliknya. Saya menyebut ini kerana yang menjadi mangsa di atas keghairahan UMNO untuk terus berkuasa ini menjadikan orang Melayu mangsa kepada nafsu UMNO untuk terus berkuasa. Orang Melayu masih dalam ketakutan kerana mereka terpedaya dengan cara UMNO yang suka menakut-nakutkan mereka (orang Melayu). UMNO sudah menjadi zalim kerana menekan bangsanya sendiri dan memundurkan pemikiran mereka sehingga mereka tidak boleh bergerak untuk memajukan diri mereka (Melayu). Apabila orang Melayu mempunyai sedikit pandangan yang berbeza, UMNO akan mengungkit kononnya jasa-jasa yang telah diberikan UMNO kepada mereka itu harus dibalas dengan memberikan sokongan walaupun mereka merompak dan menyamun. Kita sedih dengan kelemahan bangsa kita dalam hal ini walaupun setengah dari mereka telah belajar jauh di antara dunia tetapi mempunyai pemikiran yang masih dijajah dengan kumpulan penjenayah politik dan ekonomi seperti UMNO ini. Nampak sangat sikap pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang mereka tidak suka kepada bangsanya yang berfikir. Menakut-nakutkan orang Melayu merupakan satu-satunya cara untuk menyatukan orang Melayu pada pandangan UMNO. Isu yang digunakan oleh UMNO bagi menakutkan orang Melayu ialah Pakatan Rakyat, jika berkuasa akan menghilangkan kedaulatan Raja-Raja Melayu. Jika PR memerintah orang Melayu akan di kafirkan oleh DAP dengan mengkristiankan orang Melayu. Jika PR memerintah, DAP dan komponen PR akan melenyapkan orang Melayu kononnya. UMNO sudah ketandusan idea untuk menjawab perbahasan dalam banyak isu politik. UMNO hanya tinggal dengan taktik gertak menggertak serta melakukan pembelian undi dan melakukan penipuan dalam pilihanraya nanti seperti yang mereka lakukan selama ini. Taktik yang lain ialah dengan menghina dan menggunakan kata-kata kesat yang tidak bertemadun dan beragama. UMNO seolah-olah sedang menghadapi penyakit gila talak dan tidak keruan lagi. Mencarut-carut di alam cyber sekarang ini sudah menjadi pakaian penyokong-penyokong UMNO untuk berkempen bagi menegakkan benang basah mereka. Mereka tidak sedar manusia sekarang sudah lebih tinggi tamadunnya. Memaki hamun dan mencarut itu hanya membayangkan betapa 'desperado' nya UMNO masa kini dan memaki hamun itu hanya dilakukan oleh mereka yang sengkek sahaja. Kita sudah mengiktiraf bahawa jika sesebuah parti itu memenangi pilihanraya seperti itu ia merupakan satu kemenangan yang tidak 'legitimate'. Tetapi UMNO tidak peduli dengan isu 'legitimacy' ini. Yang penting berkuasa terus menerus. PM Najib secara terbuka telah berkata yang UMNO akan lakukan apa sahaja untuk mempertahankan Putrajaya. Bagi UMNO yang penting ialah kuasa bukannya untuk bertanggungjawab kepada rakyat. UMNO menekan orang Melayu dengan isu sensitif seperti yang saya sebutkan di atas. Lagi takut orang Melayu lagi untung kepimpinannya. Jadi UMNO hanya membina sifat penakut kepada orang Melayu sahaja kerana jika orang Melayu takut dengan isu rasis yang di gembar gemburkan olehnya lagi berpeluang mereka untuk berkuasa dan melakukan perkara-perkara yang merosakkan orang Melayu lagi. READ MORE HERE

Longer campaign period, fairer access to media needed Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:01 AM PST Currently, the usual eight-day duration of campaigning during elections is too short. This very brief campaign period undermines a key basis of a democracy namely that voters make informed choices about whom they want as their elected representatives and which party they wish to represent them in government. The current time frame of eight days is insufficient since it does not allow for any substantial discussion of the real campaign issues and no robust evaluation of party manifestos and the candidates contesting the election. The performance of power holders is seldom scrutinised. The quality of the opposition is seldom evaluated. Consequently, election campaigns in Sarawak often end up being ethnic, religious or developmental 'beauty contests' in which contesting parties attempt to outdo their competitors by showing how good they are in relation to how bad their competitors are! There is too much ridicule and disparaging of the competition by all parties involved given the short election period. There is no discussion of issues, little debate and still less comparison of candidates and party platforms. As well, the brevity of election campaigns often sees candidates distributing money and all sorts of developmental goodies to voters to solicit their support instead of sharing their well-thought out ideas and party manifestos in support of good governance and democracy to solicit support. Lack of equal and fair access to the media Presently, the structure of the Malaysian media industry is such that most mainstream media is owned by the government or interests closely aligned to or linked to political parties and individuals in government. During elections, the mainstream media have consistently acted as the unvarnished propaganda arm of the governing political party. This has been eloquently documented in numerous articles, the key ones being Zaharom Nain (2002), Mustafa K Anuar (2002), various issues of Aliran Monthly and the work of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ). [Zaharom Nain, 'The Structure of the Media Industry. Implications for Democracy' and Mustafa K Anuar, 'Defining Democratic Discourses. The Mainstream Press'. Both articles were published in an edited volume by Francis Loh Kok Wah and Khoo Boo Teik (2002), Democracy in Malaysia. Discourses and Practices, Surrey: Curzon Press. Aliran Monthly monitors and regularly comments on the health of the mainstream press in its publications and website.] In the interest of freely and fairly informing the electorate about the key electoral issues, party manifestos, candidates, their positions on issues, etc. and to allow for a critical evaluation of past performance and future commitments/pledges, the mainstream media have a key role to play in strengthening democracy and informed choice. But for this, there needs to be fair access to the media for all. As well, there is a need for the media to report truthfully and without bias on all issues and all parties contesting an election. READ MORE HERE

Kes penyenaraian Felda GV- kajian semula Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:40 AM PST Sebab utama, saya memikirkan ini suatu silap mata beberapa orang untuk mendapat wang runtuh. Berapa ramai peneroka felda boleh beli blok blok saham itu nanti? Kenapa jika ada jalan yang direct untuk buat duit, kita memandai mandai nak buat duit cara indirect? Cara direct yang saya maksudkan ialah peneroka tanam sawit dan jual sawit kepada Felda Holdings pada harga yang baik. Dan mereka akan lebih untung jika buat macam Air Asia mahukan- harga input semua murah. Jika AA mahukan cukai airport di turunkan supaya kos input rendah- peneroka yang rata rata nya Melayu mahukan kos input seperti baja, perkakas, jentera, barangan dan perkhidmatan semua murah. Bukan kah cara yang demikian menguntungkan para peneroka directly? Tidak perlu trick sana dan trick sini. Kita dah bosan dengan IPO ni. Yang mendapat laba ialah mereka yang mengetahui terlebih dahulu, Felda mahu di senaraikan. Taruh dan bubuh lah apa sahaja syarat- moratorium kah, atau apa apa- tipu muslihat oleh pegawai tinggi felda akan tetap berlaku. Jadi, apa makna nya penyenaraian tersebut? Ianya suatu alasan untuk suatu kumpulan orang membuat wang yang banyak. Itu objection kita yang pertama. Apa akan jadi apabila penyenaraian berlaku? Yang terjadi ialah konsentrasi kuasa pada satu orang iaitu Isa Samad. Ini kita kena tentang. Isa Samad pengerusi Felda. Dia pengerusi Felda Holdings. Dia jadi pulak pengerusi KPFB. Dan tentu dia nak jadi pengerusi FGV. Berapa banyak daa…. Yang di kehendaki ialah agihan kuasa supaya sesuatu unit perniagaan boleh berfungsi secara merdeka dan bebas dari keputusan satu orang. Konsentrasi kuasa atau monopoli is bad economics. Apabila kuasa di konsentrasi pada satu orang sahaja, ia mendedahkan Felda kepada salah guna kuasa dan pertimbangan yang kurang bijak. Dan isa samad tidak ada rekod pengurusan perniagaan yang baik. Tanah di negeri Sembilan yang leasehold di agihkan kepada peniaga bukan melayu bertukar menjadi tanah freehold. Bolehkah kita menganggap Isa SAmad pembela kepentingan orang Melayu? Jerit dan memekik sambil menghayun tangan macam kartun, itu Isa Samad boleh buat. Dan kita tahu attitude Isa Samad- den MB, dia punya hal lah sekarang akan bertukar, den pengerusi felda, ikut suka den lah. Boleh jadi saya telah lihat banyak sangat kebejatan yang di lakukan oleh puak2 UMNO, maka saya ada in built cynicism bila kerajaan comes up with a business plan. What to do- I am an incorrigible cynic. That is my more endearing personality trait. READ MORE HERE

The power brokers in Umno, and who do they support? Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:12 AM PST The most powerful of these four men and the one who has the most at stake is former premier Mahathir Mohamad. Next is the fabulously rich former Finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former premier Abdullah Badawi and another former Finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who holds the least clout amongst the 4 most influential power-brokers in UMNO. Analyzing the UMNO elite's current game plan, it looks like it's Mahathir's kitchen that is the most busy at the moment. The feisty 85-year-old who ruled Malaysia for 22 years is said to have given the thumbs up to Najib. But in reality, it is more of a goodbye gesture! Goodbye Greedy-Najib Mahathir realizes now that Najib has his own agenda; to be in power and establish his family and relatives in long-term businesses that may later cross or rival those interests held by his sons – Mokhzani, Mirzan and even Mukhriz. But ambitious as Mahathir may be, due to the talent vacuum in UMNO, the only horse that he can rely on is just Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister. The connection between Mahathir and Muhyiddin goes back a long way, when Muhyiddin together with Defense minister Zahid Hamidi were part of an UMNO faction called the Wawasan 2020 team led by Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar, now the Opposition Leader, was then the UMNO deputy president and Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. But Mahathir, fearful of losing his seat to the extremely popular Anwar, decided to sack him on manifestly trumped-up sodomy charges. Mahathir's horse Both Muhyiddin and Zahid had been 'devoted' lieutenants to Anwar then. Thus, to swing them back to his side, Mahathir promised both men some very important positions that would yield great benefits in the longer term, although they may not seem lucrative then. Mahathir did all he could to to isolate Anwar, and this is why Muhyiddin and Zahid are still Mahathir's men. Recently, Muhyiddin tried to stand up to Mahathir by insisting on going through with a ban on teaching mathematics and science in English. But teaching the two subjects in English is Mahathir's prized legacy and sure enough, Mahathir straightaway issued comments that amounted to a public scolding for Muhyiddin. Muhyiddin's supporters had no choice but to bite the bullet.  Muhyiddin was just trying to score brownie points with the Malay electorate, they clarified, claiming that Mahathir also needed Muhyiddin to "be his horse". Daim, Badawi and Ku Li would prefer to back Najib As for Daim, the former Finance minister will only support Najib because Muhyiddin is already Mahathir's man. Daim had been caught scheming under Mahathir's nose when he was the Finance Minister. All the banks and the rich Malays tycoons are Daim's men. So far Najib has not dug up any dirt on Daim. Even for RM12bil  PKFZ financial debacle, Najib took pains to ensure that only the parts connected to Mahathir were revealed. Badawi too has no choice but to support Najib because Mahathir is still mad with him for reversing several of his mega projects including the crooked bridge to Singapore. As far back as 2004, Badawi made Muhyiddin the Agriculture Minister, regarded as a lowly ministry. Even then, Badawi knew Muhyiddin was Mahathir's man. Despite approving the NFC cattle livestock project and awarding the stewardship of the project to the family of Shahrizat Jalil, Muhyiddin did not fully defend the debacle and he let Badawi's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin answer for everything. Mahathir is also very angry with Khairy. Mahathir also hates Rosmah. Khairy has no hope other then to align himself with Najib. Khairy was the one who defended Najib when he was accused of using public money to attend the engagement party of his daughter in Kazakhstan. Then again, if Khairy had been more tactful over the Kazakh episode, fewer people would have known of it, prompting suspicion that Khairy may be playing a "double-game". Nevertheless, Tengku Razaleigh or Ku Li, if given a choice between Muhyiddin and Najib, he would definitely support Najib since he also knows that Muhyiddin is Mahathir's man. So it looks like Mahathir and Muhyiddin are one team, while Badawi, Daim and Najib form the other team. Mahathir Mohamad First and foremost, Mahathir wants to wield power. He resigned with mixed feelings. He was not able to accomplish many things and was actually very reluctant to lose power. Yet he knew that he had committed too many blunders and Malaysia was going south too rapidly, he knew he must wash his hands and let someone else to take the fall. From the economy to corruption to social integration, the judiciary to the police to the institutions, Mahathir had erred in all his decisions. He was desperate to protect his name and legacy. He also had his sons' future, their businesses and political careers to care about. Not to mention, his cronies and diehard supporters had to be protected too. After all they were the ones who have been relentlessly supporting him from day one until now. Make no mistake, Mahathir still wants to hold on to power. READ MORE HERE

Iran, Islam and the ‘Axis of Evil’ Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:08 AM PST The party has engineered ambitious internal reforms and has progressed through the years, arguably further than any other political party in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. PAS has come to choose to emphasise its commitment to the welfare state rather, than Islamic theocracy. PAS recognises that an all-encompassing Islamic theocracy is a far-fetched concept in multicultural Malaysia. Yet many Malaysians remain skeptical. Some Malaysians even believe the story that Iran, for example, is a member of a so-called totalitarian 'Axis of Evil', together with Iraq and North Korea. This made-for-television soundbite was first trotted out in 2002, and then mumbled repeatedly by George W Bush, during his two catastrophic terms as president. George W Bush used this 'Avis of Evil' propaganda, fabricated 'evidence' for weapons of mass destruction and pretended that Iraq had links to Al-Qaeda, in order to invade Iraq in 2003. Just as George Jr was continuing his father's 1991 Gulf War, America's military industrial complex still harbours dreams of invading Iran. War on Iran 'has begun' Seumas Milne of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper in Britain argues that war in Iran has already begun.  Milne notes that spy drone flights, covert operations – including assassinations of scientists and an Iranian general – and cyberwarfare are already taking place. He urges citizens in Western countries to campaign against a full scale invasion. America's propaganda campaign against Iran has focused on Iran's nuclear power programme. Iran has never denied an ambition to have a nuclear weapon one day, although it is a current signatory to the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty. This is unsurprising, since Russia, Pakistan and Israel, in its close vicinity, are all nuclear powers. Iran and other regional military powers will not give up this ambition – unless Israel and the superpowers renounce the nuclear threat too, in an ideal, though inconceivable, scenario. Every American military expedition in the last half century has followed a similar pattern as this campaign against Iran. America's leaders begin with righteous indignation over some enemy's threat to an all-important 'way of life', wring their hands, rachet up pressure on the enemy, and finally set off fireworks (napalm in Indochina, cluster bombs in Afghanistan, 'shock and awe' in Iraq). Television images of military coffins draped in American flags follow shortly afterwards, accompanied by photo opportunities of solemn but determined presidents. But who exactly is the enemy? Mainstream American news networks concentrate on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a hate figure. Rightwing commentators claim the Iranian president is an Islamic fanatic. Ahmadinejad, they keep repeating, has denied the Holocaust ever took place, and has threatened to 'wipe Israel off the map'. America, these pundits insist, must defend its ally Israel from attack. Pro-war cheerleaders in both Washington and Tel Aviv are unimpressed by the argument that Iran has no nuclear weapons, and would face decimation by nuclear-armed Israel if Iran were to directly attack Israel. The warmongers are urging yet another battle in a Muslim nation, the sixth in ten years, after Afghanistan in 2001 and Pakistan (by remote control), Iraq in 2003, Lebanon in 2003 (by Israeli troops) and Libya this year. The pro-war lobby is excited that US troops are being withdrawn from Iraq, allowing another potential front to be opened up. The New York Times  painstakingly explained, five years ago, that Ahmadinejad had never declared war on Israel. Of course, that does not mean Iran supports Israel's existence. After all, Iran does not hide its support for Hezbollah and Hamas, two militias dedicated to destroying Israel. Even so, Iran has never invaded another country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. When Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, Iranians did fight a desperate war against a Saddam Hussein aided by the American and Soviet superpowers at the time. Iran and Iraq fought to an exhausted standstill after eight years. At least 500,000 people had died, including many child soldiers – both nations lost the war. Israel, on its part, has launched five recent wars in southern Lebanon alone, invading in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996 and 2006.  Each time, civilians suffered the brunt of the killing. The sickening massacre of children and unarmed civilians in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila in 1982 are an indelible stain on the history of the 20th century. Israel has claimed provocation each time, citing attacks on its civilians from Lebanese territory. READ MORE HERE

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